Occupation Receptionist | ||
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Died 12 October 1974, Stanford Memorial Church, California, United States | ||
Arlis Kay Perry (née Dykema; February 22, 1955 – October 12, 1974) was a newlywed 19-year-old receptionist who was murdered inside Stanford Memorial Church within the grounds of Stanford University on October 12, 1974. The murder of Arlis Perry has remained unsolved for 42 years as of October, 2016 and the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office are still actively seeking information on the case.
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Biography
Born Arlis Kay Dykema in Linton, North Dakota on February 22, 1955 to Marvin Dykema and his wife Jean, she moved to Stanford just two months prior to her death to be with her new husband, then-sophomore Bruce D. Perry, a premedical student at the university. She had been working as a receptionist at the law firm Spaeth, Blase, Valentine and Klein in Palo Alto for two weeks. The couple had been living at Quillen House, Escondido Village.
Murder
On October 12th, 1974 at approximately 11:30 p.m., the couple had a minor argument and Arlis Perry parted from her husband to visit the Memorial Church on campus. Perry was 5'6" tall and weighed 110 pounds, had blonde hair and was wearing blue jeans, a tan short-sleeve sweater, dark brown jacket and sandals. Perry's body was discovered in the church by security guard and member of Stanford Police Department, Steve Crawford, at approximately 05:45 a.m the following morning (October 13, 1974). She was found face up and had been killed from a blow to the back of the head from an ice pick. Her body had signs that she had also been strangled. She was naked from the waist down and a three-foot long altar candle had been inserted into her vagina, a second candlestick was pushed up under her blouse and between her breasts.
Investigation
Police interviewed the security guard Crawford who said he had locked up the church a little after midnight and rechecked the doors were still locked at around 02:00 a.m. At 03:00 a.m Bruce Perry reported his wife missing and the Santa Clara County Sheriff's visited the church to find all the doors locked. When Crawford visited the church at 05:45 to open it for the day, he found the west side door open.
Investigators found semen near the body and a palm print on a candle - neither matched to Bruce Perry or the security guard. The Santa Clara County Sheriff's office also ruled out any links between the murder of Perry and three previous murders dating back to February 1973.
Though unsolved, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department state the case remains open and active.
Alleged Son of Sam link
David Berkowitz, the notorious "Son of Sam" killer from New York City, mentioned the Perry murder in a few letters, suggesting that he heard details of the crime from "Manson II", the alleged culprit. In the San Jose Mercury News, Jessie Seyfer noted that "investigators interviewed Berkowitz in prison and now believe he has nothing of value to offer..." regarding the Perry case.
Bruce Perry
Perry's widower, Bruce D. Perry, MD, PhD, is a clinician and researcher in children's mental health and the neurosciences, and an internationally recognized authority on children in crisis.